Justice John Paul Stevens announces his retirement

Justice John Paul Stevens announces his retirement

www.latimes.com

Justice John Paul Stevens, a Republican-appointed justice who emerged as a leader of the Supreme Court's liberal wing over his 34-year tenure, announced his retirement Friday.

Stevens sent a letter to President Obama on Friday, which read: "Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court's next term, I shall retire from active service."

The announcement was not a surprise, but the timing was. Stevens, 89, was widely expected to wait until after the high court's oral arg

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is going to set up an interesting battle in the Senate. Any candidate for Stevens' seat will be hotly contested by the Republicans, with their ability to filibuster. While the seat being vacated during Obama's administration doesn't alter the makeup of SCOTUS, it does potentially take one of the liberal seats off the list for quite some time into the future. This, coupled with Justice Ginsberg's expected retirement will lock up two seats for years to come.

www.latimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)